Peter Dunne says…

“Kiwibank is in ..[abridged].. an increasingly fraught and troubled globe, it is both a symbolic and practical statement of our economic sovereignty. Collectively, it is ours pure and simple. It must stay that way.”

It appears that Peter Dunne, the MP for Ohariu, and one of National’s one-man band coalition partners, has taken a very ideological stand on refusing to sell Kiwibank. (Not that John Key or the Nats ever campaigned on this issue last year. So it is, for all intents and purposes, a non-issue.)

The question here is simple; if Peter Dunne maintains that Kiwibank is “collectively… ours pure and simple. It must stay that way” – then why is his stance different on even more important strategic state assets; power companies and an airline?! (Especially considering that Air New Zealand already went bankrupt once, and had to be bailed out by the taxpayer in October 2001.)

Isn’t it curious… Peter Dunne considers Kiwibank to be “ours pure and simple” and that “it must stay that way” – but he has not applied the same principle to Meridian, Genesis, Mighty River Power, Solid Energy, and Air Air New Zealand.

Why is Kiwibank ” ours pure and simple. It must stay that way ” – but not other State assets?

Especially when he says that Kiwibank must remain in public ownership because in “an increasingly fraught and troubled globe, it is both a symbolic and practical statement of our economic sovereignty“.

One would have thought that three power companies (at the very least); that power our homes, industustries, infra-structure, businesses, etc, would have even greater ” symbolic and practical statement of our economic sovereignty “?

Or is this an example, yet again, of selective morality from one of our elected representatives?

Oh dear… People of Ohariu, is this really what you wanted when you cast your votes last year?!

If this annoys you as intensely as it annoys me and others, never fear – the Million Mail campaign (and a petition) is here!!

The rumours that I’ve heard suggest that he won’t stand again in 2014 – possibly because he doesn’t want the embarrassing defeat that would result from his existing slim majority coupled with all the bad sentiment in his electorate. So, to put it bluntly, he doesn’t give a shit about the huge opposition to his position on asset sales.